EU agrees on sanctions for Hamas and Israeli settlers

The foreign ministers of the EU reached a political agreement to impose sanctions on Hamas and Jewish settlers, said EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell in Luxembourg. The meeting also established the signing of a security agreement between the Union and Ukraine.

At a press conference after the meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Josep Borrell stated that soon, the political agreement to impose sanctions on the Palestinian armed movement Hamas and Jewish settlers will be converted into concrete sanctions, which will be adopted within the framework of written procedure.

Borrell also added that he does not know precisely what Benjamin Netanyahu's government's goal is. The government keeps repeating that it will continue the war to complete victory, although the EU is receiving voices, including from the Israeli armed forces, that question this goal. As the EU foreign affairs chief noted, at this moment, it does not seem that there is a chance for the Israeli authorities to agree to a ceasefire.

During the meeting in Luxembourg, the ministers also decided to allocate profits from the frozen assets of the Russian central bank to support Ukraine. Funds worth around £5 billion will be directed to Kyiv through the Ukraine Support Fund (USF). The first tranche of £1 billion to £1.2 billion will be paid by the end of next month, and another £850 million by the end of the year. Borrell also reminded that Hungary has been blocking the transfer of nearly £5.8 billion in support from the European Peace Facility for almost a year.

He conveyed that the terms of the security agreement between the European Union and Ukraine were also finalised during the meeting. This is expected to be signed in June, possibly during this week's EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. According to the Italian agency ANSA on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Brussels specifically for this purpose.

With these security commitments, we send a clear message to Russia about our will to continue supporting Ukraine, said the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs.

In Luxembourg, the ministers also debated the situation in Georgia following the country's parliament's adoption of the controversial law on so-called foreign agents. Borrell said that the Georgian authorities are misleading the public by saying that this law will bring them closer to the EU.

I want to be clear: No. No, this law and all the negative developments around it are pushing Georgia away from the European Union, said the politician. He added that 26 out of 27 member states (except Hungary) supported the statement regarding Georgia, but—as he noted—we do not need unanimity to make a political evaluation of the situation.

He admitted that the Commission had indeed proposed imposing sanctions on Georgia, including limiting political contacts and suspending financial aid while strengthening support for civil organisations and independent media.

Borrell said this can be done immediately, but we will continue to examine the situation and take further measures in case it deteriorates further.

The situation in Georgia will also be one of the topics of this week's EU summit.